NFL Combine 2012: Most Over-Hyped Combine Drills

Against all odds, the NFL scouting combine has become must-see TV.

I'll be honest, I just don't get it. The combine is fascinating and everything, but I fail to see how watching a bunch of jocks going through a bunch of drills qualifies as legit television entertainment. I'm apparently in the minority, though, as Pro Football Talk reported that roughly 5.2 million people tuned in to watch the combine last year.

Those who tune in to watch have a certain perception of the combine. Most think it's an incredibly important event that will shape the futures of every young man in the vicinity. If they don't perform well at the combine, they're not going to cut it in the NFL.

Yes and no. No prospect wants to look bad at the combine, but the drills really don't mean much in the grand scheme of things. They give little indication as to which prospects are going to be great football players.

There are some drills that are more misleading than all the rest. Three in particular spring to mind.

40-Yard Dash

This is probably the most enticing drill at the combine. Speed kills in the NFL, so those who show off great speed at the combine must be cut out for NFL greatness, right?

Occasionally. Deion Sanders ran a 4.21 40-yard dash at the 1989 combine, and he went on to have a brilliant career. More recently, Chris Johnson ran a 4.24 40-yard dash, and a couple years later he rushed for over 2,000 yards.

But since 2008, relatively few players who owned the 40-yard dash stand out as NFL greats. Jacoby Ford (4.28 in 2010) had some nice moments in his rookie season, but he's nothing more than a role player for the Oakland Raiders. DeMarcus Van Dyke (4.28 in 2011) barely played for the Raiders in 2011. Darrius Heyward-Bey (4.30 in 2009) has never lived up to being selected seventh overall by the Raiders in 2009.

Go ahead and make your own Raiders jokes. They have a well-known reputation for drafting speedy players, and look where that's gotten them.

The problem with drafting speedy players is that straight-line speed rarely comes in handy in the NFL. You just don't see players running as fast as they can in a straight line all that often. Making plays is slightly more complicated than that.

So when you see some unknown prospect own the 40-yard dash this year, try not to get too excited. He's just as likely to be a scrub as he is to be a star.

Bench Press

Last year at the combine, Oregon State defensive tackle Stephen Paea set a new combine with 49 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. His performance opened a lot of eyes, and I recall it blowing up Twitter.

Eventually, Paea was picked in the second round by the Chicago Bears. He played in just 11 games in his rookie season, racking up 14 tackles and two sacks. Not exactly a breakout year.

If you go back and take a look at the top bench press performers since 2007, you're going to find few recognizable names. Everyone on the list showed off great upper body strength in the bench press drill, but that hasn't translated to NFL success for most of them.

That's not at all surprising. Virtually all of the guys on the list are offensive or defensive linemen, and it takes a lot more than upper body strength to succeed in the trenches. It's just as important to have great footwork and agility. Brute strength will only get one so far.

Don't get me wrong, benching 225 pounds upwards of 30 or 40 times is definitely impressive, but all it really tells us is that the guys who are able to do it are great weight room prodigies. That doesn't mean they're great football players.

Wonderlic Test

Ah, the Wonderlic Test. It's not on TV, but we never tire of talking about it.

For whatever reason, both fans and pundits tend to freak out over how quarterbacks score on the Wonderlic test. If a quarterback scores well, he's an intriguing prospect. If a quarterback doesn't score well, he's a risky pick.

Case in point, much was made of Cam Newton's score of 21 out of 50 on the Wonderlic in 2011 (courtesy of NFLStatAnalysis.net). Some took it as a chance to pontificate about how Newton was simply too stupid to play the quarterback position at the next level.

He went on to have the greatest rookie season of all time, setting several records and winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year. Too stupid, indeed.

The truth is that the Wonderlic doesn't mean anything. Peyton Manning and Drew Brees both scored a 28 on it. John Elway scored a 29. Terry Bradshaw, four-time Super Bowl champ and NFL Hall of Famer, scored a 15.

So pay the Wonderlic no mind. It's pointless.